Can a dirty key board leak my passwords?

Question

I have a white MacBook and the keys obviously get VERY dirty. I clean the keys every few months and this most recent time I noticed that some keys were dirtier than others. I also noticed that the dirty keys happened to be the ones I used for my passwords and other letters and numbers that I commonly use while keys that I rarely use (the number 7, brackets, the letters Z and X, to name a few) were not very dirty at all. Is it possible for someone to hack into my computer or accounts by observing the dirty keys or am I being paranoid?

Answer 1

It's possible but that would only eliminate one of the problems of hacking a password. If they can see your keyboard they are most likely trusted (friends, family, etc) and if they are not they are probably not in you house to hack your computer and on the off-chance that they are they would not notice the keys unless they read this post....lol

Answer 2

There are over several combinations that you can make to come up with the password. Your password can be retrieved if you save your password with your username and can be activated upon booting up your computer. Otherwise, it will take some time before the right combination is come up. Dont worry too much.

Answer 3

it would be a fluke to get the right sequence unless your password is a word that is easy to make out by the letters that are dirty... but if its a combination password then it would take month's to get the right sequence

Answer 4

try changing your password in mixture of dirty and clean keys.

;)

Answer 5

There is no way it will revel the order of characters, however if you really want to be sure, change your password to use a couple of those "never used" keys, As a side-effect it will make your password way more secure.